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Posted By Dave on July 15, 2011

Mold abatement can be accomplished on your own if you understand how to protect yourself and your home from more contamination. Do it yourself mold abatement starts with finding the moisture source that is allowing the mold to grow and thrive.

Mold needs food which is any kind of organic matter including household dust. Mold must have oxygen which is all around and mold needs moisture!

The only controllable aspect of mold growth that can be solved is the moisture. The moisture issue could be humidity, it could be a leak in the roof, leaky shower, leaking pipes, and it could be a leaking foundation too. You probably have a good idea about your moisture issue, unless it is just an overall musty basement.

The damp basement needs a de-humidifier and you must stop condensation on the walls and floor from the changes in humidity versus the constant temperature of the basement walls. Of course this includes your crawl space too. So you may need to add ventilation to your basement or crawl space, but at least de-humidify it all year.

Once the moisture problem is solved, it’s now time for mold abatement. Areas of mold that are one foot by one foot in area, simply take a see through garbage bag and tape the opening to the area around the mold. This serves as a protective barrier. Once you start cleaning you will be causing a microscopic dust storm of mold spores. The plastic barrier keeps them from contaminating your home.

Next make sure you have a mold cleaner such as bleach or an off the shelf mold remover that will not harm the finish of where you are cleaning. Cut the plastic with a opening large enough to get your hand and arm. Soak the area and let the cleaner have enough kill time to allow for the best mold abatement.

Clean the affected area with a rag or paper towel. Once complete leave the rag inside the containment and take your hand out. Position another plastic bag over the slit and pull the rag out into the plastic bag. Quickly tie up the bag and dispose of outside.

Next, I take a Lysol type of spray and completely spray within the containment and let it work for a while. Then I dispose of the containment.

Larger Mold Abatement

Bigger areas require you build a large plastic barrier using paint tarp type of clear plastic and duct tape. If you are in the wall, you cover all around the affected area. You install a plastic floor, ceiling and then attach around the moldy target. You leave an overlapping flap as an entrance.

You will be wearing old disposable clothes or a bunny disposable suit. Wear a N-95 mask, goggles without holes and place all of your rags and equipment inside the bubble. Take down the wall and throw drywall away in a plastic bag while still in the containment. Once finished tie up the plastic bag. Spray down the moldy area and clean it up per instructions on your Moldicide.

Now you will decontaminate the inside of your barrier. Saturate it completely and wipe it up. Throw everything away in a plastic bag and tie it up. Now remove your protective clothing and throw it away also. Finally wipe down the garbage bags and immediately have an assistant remove the bags to outside of the house.

Carefully break down your containment and bag it too. Throw it away outside as well.

For better mold abatement results, once the barrier is built, create a negative pressure by installing a plastic pipe line to a window. All serious containment have a HEPA filter that draws its air from inside the containment and blows its exhaust outside. That will keep spores inside the containment at worst and it will evacuate them outside at best.

Category: Mold
Tags: mold abatement, mold cleaner, spores